Fiore Magical University
by The-Lone-Lemon
Summary: Freshmen year at FMU is underway and the students living in Fairy Tail Residence hall have a lot to learn about friendship and love. With midterms, finals, and dangerous underground competition brewing between residential areas, students have it tough! [NaLu][Gajevy][Gruvia][Jerza]
1. Chapter 1

HI! This is my first time writing for Fairy Tail. I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think!

I also don't own Fairy Tail. Wah.

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><p>The large room was getting crowded as a steady stream of fit college students flowed through the wood doors or the fitness room. In the front right corner farthest from the door, Natsu Dragneel stood with two of his good friends, Erza and Grey. The trio had been lucky enough to fit gym time into their schedules so they could all visit the campus gym together this semester. Even luckier, their gym time over lapped with the boxing class Gajeel taught 3 times a week.<p>

It being the first day of the new spring term, lots of new faces were present in the fitness room. Natsu could make a decently accurate guess as to who would make it through the class and who would not. He could see more familiar faces, a few from the Fairy Tail residential area who he waved to. There were also a couple other Criminal justice students he knew from class. Erza nudged him to look towards the door. Which was no surprise. Fiore Magical University's Magical Criminal Justice degree program was best in the Country. Many magical students looking to join a guild after graduation pursued training in law enforcement first, because it prepared them for independent field work after graduation. With the time before the start of class dwindling, two members of Raven Tail, one of the newer and thus smaller, magical residential area on campus had walked in.

At Fiore Magical University, students were selected to live in different residential areas based on their admissions interview. Many of the areas had been in existence from the founding of FMU and had connections to the outside magical community. Once in a residential area, it was rare for a student to move to another, but upper classmen did have the freedom to live off campus. It did nothing to lesson their residential affiliations. Even in the summer, many students spent the majority of the break working in a magical internship program facilitated by the residential area office.

While Fairy Tail was known for their indomitable spirit and the close connections the forged with each other, The Raven Tails were known for their bad attitude and cruelty. They also made no secret of their hate for the other magical residential areas on campus, Fairy Tail in particular. Why a residential area like Raven Tail with a such a negative reputation was aloud to continue was a hotly debated topic amongst the masters and administration.

The two raven tail mages had pushed their way to the front by the door, elbowing other students out of the way. From his spot at the front Grey snorted at their brutish behavior. It just wouldn't be a semester at FMU if there weren't tensions brewing between the magical houses.

With five minutes remaining before they were supposed to start, and no sign of Gajeel, a petit blond bounced into the room. She brushed right past the lumbering Raven Tail lackeys to stand in the middle in front of the mirrors lining the front wall.

"Hi everyone! You should all be here for a boxing class with Gajeel. Unfortunately, he ran into some first day of the semester conflicts and he asked me to cover for him. My name is Lucy, I usually teach cardio kick boxing among other things."

Her smile was huge and her enthusiasm was contagious. But the first thing his eye found was the Pink Fairy Tail mark on the back of her right hand. Natsu could see a few people leave from the back, but for the most part people were rolling with the flow. The Raven Tails were getting excited; the big one had a look in his eyes that reminded Natsu of Erza when she was looking at strawberry cake. He did not like that look on the Raven Tails face, but there was little Natsu could do about it. He had never met her before, which was odd for the very tight knit Fairy Tails.

From her blond ponytail to her pink sneakers, Lucy was the antithesis of Gajeel, but if he had asked her to cover for him, Natus wasn't worried about how intense the class was going to be.

Erza had a determined smile on her face; similar to the look she usually had when she knew she was going to beat Natsu or Grey at something.

"I hope you are ready, Lucy is a total slave driver. And her kick boxing class is no joke."

"You've take a class form her before?" Grey had started to stretch, and Erza was doing the same.

"A few times last semester. She lives on my floor and Levy and Juvia go often. I think she also teaches some of the other cardio classes, and an intro ballet class."

"I thought I knew everyone who lives in Fairy Tail Erza." Natsu pouted. At FMU, your residential area became your home, and especially for many of the students who didn't really have anywhere else to go, their dorm was a true home.

"I'll introduce you after class Natsu." Erza smiled at him again, much kinder this time. Erza had made Lucy a project of hers. At the start of the year she had seen the girl across the hall only a few times in passing. The dorm master, Professor Makarov had even spoken to her about Lucy, asking that she put forth extra effort to integrating Lucy into Fairy Tail. Erza knew Lucy's story, she knew how much Fairy Tail could help her. Erza knew because Fairy Tail had also saved her.

In front of the class Lucy had set down her water bottle and put on the speaker so she could control to music.

"We are going to get started in a minute, Gajeel told me this class would be mostly made up of some veteran muscle. Where Gajeel focuses on strength and power, I usually focus on agility and flexability. I am going to try and keep it as pure kick boxing as I can for you guys, but if there are any sequences that feel new and uncomfortable, just swap it for something you are more familiar with!"

From the front corner came a malicious voice, one of the Raven Tail mages. "So this is gonna be some pussy-ass workout. Lets get out of here Kurohebi, this is for weak fairy girls."

Lucy raised one eyebrow, aware that the meathead was only trying to get a rise out of her. His companion tried as well.

"But if we stay we can watch those nice tits of her bounce around."

"You make a good point Null."

Natsu felt a hand holding him back before he realized he had moved forward. Erza stood besides him.

"Lucy can handle them. She doesn't back down."

True to Erza's word, Lucy stared them down, looking eerily Erza like in her intensity.

"Stay or go, I don't care. But one more disrespectful comment I will remove you and have you banned from the Gym Facilities."

She turned her back on the two angry looking Raven tails, her smile firmly in place and looked at the rest of the class behind her reflected in the floor to ceiling mirrors.

"I hope you are all ready, this is gonna be a great work out!"

True to he word, it was a very different work out from what they were used to with Gajeel. The combinations were different, and she incorporated a lot more elements that worked your whole body. Her taste in music was also far superior, not to mention the positive reinforcement she incorporated was a completely foreign concept to Gajeel.

The two Raven Tail members had been subtly disruptive the whole class, but Lucy and her students were making a valiant effort to ignore them.

But with 15 minutes left, the Raven Tails decided it was time to up the anti. Lucy began to work a full song of squat exorcises; introducing a few he had never tried before with Gajeel. Standing in a wide leg stance and going as low as possible, the class was pushing through, even though Lucy was pushing the limits.

With no warning or provocation, the larger raven tail mage moved suddenly, his hand reaching back as it wound up. No one noticed the arc of his hand until it came down with a resounding slap on Lucy's behind.

The Raven Tails voice filled the stunned silence. "mmm… Next time I see that round ass I'm gonna make it twerk for me bitch."

Before Natsu, Erza or Grey could move, Lucy had wound up for a shot of her own. She punched him square in the jaw with an echoing crack of knuckles on bone. Raven Tail did not pause, in a split second Lucy had fallen back blocking his right hook, but was going to be too late to block his other fist. Before he could connect everything came to a halt.

Standing next to Lucy was Natsu, one hand blocking the meaty fist from connecting with her face, and a fire in his eyes, hot with fury.

"Get out!" Lucy's anger was intense, and she was backed up now by Erza and Grey, as well as Natsu who was still by her side.

"You should teach your fairy bitches how to punch." The Raven Tail lackey didn't address Lucy, choosing in stead to address Natsu, who was boiling over next to her. Erza had made a move forward as well; ready to defend the punching ability of Fairy Tail women everywhere. Lucy was closer however, and she had a much more poignant message to deliver.

Lucy grabbed his forearm and used it as leverage as she drove her knee up into his groin. He went down almost instantly, clutching himself in agony.

"For crying out loud. Get out of my class. I am going to recommend you be banned from the rec center for at least this semester." She looked to his counterpart, her big brown eyes sparking with anger.

"I suggest you teach your Raven Tail counterparts how to take a hit."

The wide-eyed Kurohebi dragged his partner out of the classroom. The rest of the class was looking on in shocked silence. There was a small smattering of applause as well. Lucy put on a wide smile, the same from earlier. Up close Natsu could see, this smile did not reach her eyes.

"There are technically 10 minutes left in class, but I think this is a good stopping point. There is a chance I will cover for Gajeel a few more times this semester, so I hope I see you all again and that we can go a full 50 minutes. You guys missed out on my hardest track!"

The class emptied slowly and more than a few came up to thank her for a great first class of the semester. Lucy graciously thanked them and ushered them out. The only three who stayed were the three other Fairy Tail mages.

Erza clapped her on the back after the last person cleared the door. "That is how it's done Lucy!"

She smiled wide, and scratched the back of her head with the hand that hadn't done the punching."Does it always hurt this much when you punch someone?"

Erza immediately took her hand and examined her knuckles, which were angry red and swelling. "You might have a nice bruise there tomorrow. "

"I can help with that." Grey Stepped forward with blue glowing hands, producing ice with is maker magic.

" You must be Grey, Erza told me about your maker magic. Thank you."

Natsu also moved to introduce himself. He couldn't believe it was already second semester and there were still Fairy Tail Mages he hadn't met yet.

"I'm Natsu! Nice job taking care of that jerk."

Lucy waved off the compliment. "Thanks. I've heard so much about you guys from Erza. I'm sorry this is how we had to meet for the first time."

Grey smiled, he was starting to get his stuff together because the first few people from the next class had already started to come in.

"We will just have to hang out to make up for it. We are headed to dinner right now if you would like to go?"

Erza was ready to leave as well, "Yes, we are meeting Levy and Juvia too. We've been trying to get her to come along all fall semester. I guess al it took was letting her knee a guy in the groin to get her to join us!"

"Now that we've met, I wont let her avoid us anymore Erza." Natsu threw an arm over her shoulder and moved to pull her out of the room.

Lucy was laughing but she ha to hold off the enthusiastic Natsu. "Sorry, I teach the Yoga class that is coming in next, I wont be heading back for another hour or so. Maybe Ill see you for dinner tomorrow?"

Natsu didn't let go right away, his smile was wide and he brought his face closer to hers. "Yeah something like that Luce."

The slow reduction of personal space went almost unnoticed by Lucy and Natsu. They took a moment staring at each other, Lucy in daze and Natsu with a light of determination in his eyes. Grey and Erza exchanged surprised and knowing looks.

As the three exited the classroom, Natsu waved over his shoulder " See you soon Lucy."

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><p>Outside in the hallway Natsu turned to his friends. "Im going to wait for her. You guys go ahead and get everyone to stay, shouldn't be hard, we always stay in the dining hall for ever anyway."<p>

Grey regarded him critically, wondering what could have gotten into Natsu. "Ok. But we could all stay if you would like…lover boy."

Natsu blushed a rosy pink that matched his hair but the glint in his eye sharpened. "Can it ice man, or ill send Juvia your class schedule." Grey paled, last semester Juvia had switched herself into all of Greys classes so they "didn't have to spend a moment apart". With that threat Grey let the issue slide, for now.

"We will see you at dinner, take care of Lucy." Erza voice echoed with the seriousness of a friend and sister. Lucy lived across the hall from her and Erza had taken an extreme liking to the outgoing but absurdly busy stellar spirit mage. She had been trying to get her to meet up with the other Fairy Tail Freshmen, but her efforts in the fall semester had only stretched to the other girls on their floor.

If Natsu was finally going to grow up and take interest in a woman; and from the way he was looking at Lucy Erza suspected Lucy had awoke that instinct in him, Erza was glad he had chosen Lucy. From what she knew of the two of them separately, they would be really good for each other. Weather they became romantically entwined, or just became friends.

And thus with the Freshmen Fairy Queens approval things were set into motion; things that would make life at Fiore Magical University much more interesting.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed!<p>

the_lone_lemon


	2. Chapter 2

Hi! Thanks to you lovely folks who took the time to review, or to follow or fav! I am glad to see there are some people who want more!

I am having a lot of fun with this story, just a warning it is not going to follow the story lines exactly, some stuff will be the same, other stuff will be scrambled up and some characters are going to be a little OCC. (I just can't seem to believe that Natsu would be that clueless about girls!)

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy! (I don't own Fairy Tail :)

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><p>Yoga had always been a sort of salvation for Lucy. She could always ground herself, breath deep and carry on after a good 40 minute Yoga session, she also knew she could seriously challenge her mind and body as long as she was on her yoga mat.<p>

Her Yoga class had gone well, she had been forced to make a few personal adjustments because of her hand, but she had a really great group that even included a few newbies. She was just beginning to tidy the room after her last student had left for the evening, it was buffalo chicken night at the dinning halls so students were keen on leaving quickly, leaving Lucy alone with her thoughts to finish closing up the room.

The events of the boxing class she had covered for Gajeel were worrisome, but meeting Erza's friends was what was really weighing heavily on her mind. She should really try to think of them as her friends. They did all live in Fairy Tail, and that gave her more than enough reason to think of them that way. Lucy had been dreaming of coming to FMU since her freshmen year of high school, and Fairy Tail had been at the center of her plans. The most prosperous residential area on campus, known for their magical strength, Lucy was thankful to be able to count herself as a member. But she had never imagined she would come to FMU under her present circumstances.

The secrets Lucy was trying to keep were made more vulnerable with each new person she connected with. And as a member of one of the oldest and most tight knit residential areas at the university, she was having trouble limiting the number of friendships she was forging. The loneliness of her first semester was also taxing. She wanted nothing more than give in to her social nature.

Looking back at all the time that had past, nothing concerning had happened since she escaped. It had been almost a year and there had been no repercussions. She was so tempted to give into the thought that maybe she had truly gotten away. She knew legally she would never have to go back and she had done more than well enough her first semester academically and financially. She could support herself, she was the master of her own success. Why was she so reluctant to believe that she was finally free?

She couldn't keep thinking about this. The internal debate wasn't worth her time and really, if they were friends with Erza, she knew it was pointless to try and keep her distance. Weather she was ready to move forward, if it was safe or not, Erza wanted nothing more than to make Lucy a part of her group of friends. And if Lucy had learned anything her first semester of college, it was that Erza never stopped until things were as she wanted.

Yoga was the last class of the day before the room closed and Lucy, lost in her thoughts of the past few hours, was just finishing her final sweep of the classroom. Sometimes she would stay late with the door closed and practice or come up with new stuff for the classes she taught. But tonight she was itching to get home to start the first book for her Brit Lit class.

Lucy stepped into the back closet to put away the cleaning supplies, more than ready to head across campus to her dorm. Her head was in the clouds as it often was, when she had first escaped she had never allowed herself to become this unaware. With a problem free summer and first semester of college under her belt, she was become more comfortable in her surroundings. More of her old habits were returning and that was a good thing. She was feeling more like Lucy than she had in a long time.

But Lucy had honed those instincts for a reason, to avoid this exact scenario. When she came back out into the classroom, she was no longer alone. The hulking Raven Tail member from kickboxing was back, and he looked like he was ready to exact revenge. There was no way for Lucy to know if Null's return was connected to her past life, or if he was just a big pervy bastard.

Lucy didn't let him see the surprise on her face, she turned her back to him and made to lock the door to the closet. Her mind was racing; her keys were in her cubby in the front of the room. If she was going to stand a chance against this guy, getting her keys was her only chance.

"Class is over. You need to leave." Her tone was dismissive and she adopted a casual air. She began to make her way to the cubbies in the front of the room, but Raven Tail cut her off half way.

His face was devilish, is eyes sharp with lust and malice. She took a small amount of pride in the swelling of his jaw, but it was short lived. Null's fist shot in front of her slamming into the wall with a crack.

"I don't care much about classes you bitch. The way I see it you owe me an apology."

Lucy took a step back, but the wall was too close, and null was too quick. She found herself trapped between two thick arms, being overwhelmed by the smell of him and the sound of his grating laugh.

"Looks like I caught me a little fairy. " His huge hands moved to her shoulders tying to push her down in front of him. "If you beg like a good little girl I might not hurt you too bad, Tinkerbelle."

The situation was not looking good. Lucy was running ideas frantically through her head trying to find a way to get away from him. She would definitely have him beat in speed, if she could just put distance between them she could make it to the door. Screaming wasn't going to be too helpful, the gym was usually pretty empty this time of day and the classrooms were pretty well sound proofed on account of the loud music most classes used.

He stupidly moved a hand from her shoulder to grab a fist full of her hair. With one hand free she had a few more options. She grit her teeth against the sharp tugging on her scalp and tried to reach out and strike him in the back of his knee.

Her strike was ineffective and Null exploded with laughter "You are useless little fairy. You better start apologizing before I decide to get serious."

Lucy was debating pushing off the wall with her feet and head butting this jerk in the stomach when, hidden by the boom of Null's voice, the classroom door opened. In the space between Null's legs Lucy could see the feet of her savior rushing into the room. She thanked her lucky stars she wouldn't have to push her face in this creeps stomach.

Natsu had gone for a run but he made sure to end his work out with the end of the yoga class. When Lucy hadn't come into the lobby to get to the exit, Natsu had thought at first that she must have gone out another door. But to get back to the dorm, she would have had to leave through the lobby. So he took a stroll back to the classroom.

The first thing he saw was Kurohebi, the scrawny Raven Tail from kick boxing, had been standing outside of the closed classroom door. The sinking feeling in Natsu's stomach was confirmed when his heightened hearing picked up the sounds of a struggle behind the classroom door. NAtsu had taken off down the hall way.

From down the hall he called to the scrawny Raven Tail, "You have one chance to move. " The unspoken threat at the end of his proclamation had the Raven Tail grunt shrinking back from the door. In a flash Natsu pushed it open and charged towards the opposite side of the room.

Erza's words from earlier, that Lucy could handle herself, echoed meaninglessly in his head. Even if she could handle him by herself, Lucy was part of Fairy Tail, meaning she didn't have to do this kind of thing on her own. She would always have back up, always have Fairy Tail at her side.

Unlike scrawny grunt, hulky grunt did not receive the benefits of a warning before Natsu slammed his fist into his face.

In one punch Null had flown back, luckily dropping Lucy's hair in his surprise. He clutched his jaw for the second time that evening as he crashed to the floor. Natsu didn't stop, he pressed forward towards his fallen opponent while Null used his feet push himself away until his back hit the corner of the room.

"I thought you learned not to mess with Fairy Tail." Fire ignited in his fist as he stalked closer to Null, danger rolling off of him in hot waves. Null made no attempt to get up, just watched wide-eyed as Natsu approached.

In the end Lucy grabbed a fist full of Natsu's jacket and pulled him back before he could attack the cowering Raven Tail.

"Stop. He isn't worth it. Natsu!" Lucy's voice seemed to cut through the haze of anger clouding Natsu's head but he did not lose any of his scariness as he addressed Null.

"You are going to stay right here and wait while we send security down to meet you. If they do not find you and your little look out here in this classroom, I will know. And I will find you."

Lucy had her jacket on in record time, and her keys safely on her hip. Natsu stayed arms crossed glaring at Null, who hadn't found the courage to shift even and inch away from the wall.

On the way out Natsu reminded him ominously, "Right here."

At the front desk, Lucy made her report and security went to her classroom. They assured her Null and his sidekick would be banned from the Gym. All the while, Natsu stayed silently by her side.

Five minutes later the two mages left the gym out the side entrance and began heading across campus to the Fairy Tail residential area. Neither said anything at first, and the silence hovered like a cloud, thick and awkward.

For the first time he could remember, Natsu was at a loss for words. He was always outgoing, had no problem talking to new people. But walking alone with Lucy, having just met her, having just saved her, he had too many feelings to really know where to start. Half of him wanted to know everything about her, and the other half wanted to demand she tell him every other person who had ever remotely threatened her. The depth of his anger when he saw her at the mercy of Null had been shocking. It had been beyond anything he had ever felt before, almost magnified.

Perhaps this was something to speak to Igneel about.

The sound of Lucy clearing her throat brought him out of his thoughts. He glanced over at her, her brown eyes were warm and her smile sweet and hesitant.

"Thank you, Natsu. If you hadn't come back… Well I'd be in a lot of trouble right now."

Natsu was glad she had finally said something. He wasn't sure he would have been able to start the conversation, and he didn't quite trust himself to be able to lead it in the right direction just yet.

"That's no problem Lucy. Any time you are in trouble like that, I'll be there to help you. That is what Fairy Tail is for!" It was too soon to say friends, but Natsu wasn't in a rush. He'd be there ever night to walk Lucy back to Fairy Tail if that what it took. He already knew where her room was thanks to Erza.

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><p>Down in south campus, a similar pair was walking towards the Fairy Tail residence hall. They had just exited the Zaleon Building and were crossing the quad. But where Natsu and Lucy were walking in mostly silence, it seemed that one half of this pair was capable of doing enough talking for two.<p>

With a bag heavy with books and her arms full of the extra few that just wouldn't fit, Levy was walking quickly to keep up with the long legs of her companion, the new Fairy Tail student who had just joined this semester.

"I was so shocked to have anyone today, being the first day and all, but I guess if Master sent you then that makes sense. It was great to have you today, otherwise my tutoring hours would have dragged on forever!"

Levy was undaunted by the silent wall of a man that was walking next to her, she hefted her bag higher onto her shoulder and kept up her stream of conversation.

"So you switched here from Phantom Lord right? You are the first person I've met who switched, that so neat! You get to really decide where you go and what you do, I respect that."

He still had not contributed to the conversation, and reflecting on their time in tutoring, he had not said much to her besides that Makarov had sent him to arrange for tutoring in Freshmen Writing, and if they could arrange to meet at an earlier time. Levy began to fall a little behind him, pausing to try and switch her bag to her other shoulder, but the extra books in her arms were making it tricky. She was just about to put the books on the ground when a large leather clad arm surprised her by clutching the strap of her over sized bag.

"Gajeel!"

Gajeel lifted the strap of her bag off her shoulder and turned to keep moving, leaving Levy a step behind as she looked at the silent mage in surprise.

"Thanks! I had some extra books in my desk at work I need to return to the library tomorrow. I am glad you were the last student to come in today." Gajeel just nodded to her once, his face set in a hard frown. His rough exterior did not deter Levy, her smile was bright enough for both of them.

"I am glad you switched to Fairy Tail Gajeel."

Levy continued to talk with renewed vigor about what their tutoring schedule would be for the semester and what classes she was looking forward to. Her smile stayed in place and she missed the shift in Gajeel's demeanor.

Gajeel felt a weight ten times the size of Levy's over stuffed bag of books settle on his chest. He could feel the Fairy Tail mark on his arm, imagined it burning, he could feel it's heat searing his skin. All the while Levy's voice floated in his head, talking about nothing and talking about everything. He felt himself tearing in half at the sound of her voice and his hand gripped the strap of her bag looking for purchase, something to hold onto as felt his indecision well up around him.

And still, with a bright smile and her sweet voice, Levy continued to lead him back towards Fairy Tail. A wolf in sheep's clothing, Gajeel tried and failed to block out her voice. All he could do was hold her bag with an iron grip, like it was the only thing he had to keep him sane.


End file.
